Single Laser Shot Photoinduced Phase Transition of Rubidium Manganese Hexacyanoferrate Investigated by X‐ray Diffraction

Abstract

We have studied by X‐ray diffraction the phase transition of microcrystals of rubidium manganese hexacyanoferrate, for which combined electron transfer and structural reorganization are responsible for a change of magnetic properties. The Rb0.94Mn[Fe(CN)6]0.98·2.5H2O system undergoes a phase transition between the tetragonal phase FeII(S = 0)–CN–MnIII(S = 2) and the cubic FeIII(S = 1/2)–CN–MnII(S = 5/2) phases. The thermal equilibrium phase transition shows a broad regime of bistability, responsible for the appearance of a thermal hysteresis in the approximate 185–300 K temperature range. We used a deposited film to study by X‐ray diffraction the switching from the tetragonal phase to the cubic phase, induced inside the thermal hysteresis by a single laser shot of tuneable power. Compared to previous measurements using local probes, our results show that the ns laser pulse induces a stable long‐range ordered cubic phase when conversion is partial or complete.